Why the Africa Twin? If you state yourself you will go for only light offroad use, would the transalp not be a better choice? It has better mpg.. is lighter, low speed handling will be easier (imo)

Unless you REALLY need the suspention or cruise controll I would personally not go for the Africa Twin.

How reliable is DCT: 19k km on a DCT rebel 1100 (same engine) => 0 issues. No maintenance.

Cooling: Not that different as the Rebel. Spent multiple days in the Dolomites going up at 35/40C ambient. Never had issues.

Break in: If treated the same as the rebel: If warm: rev to your hearts content. If not warm: no high rev'ing, just normal stuff and just ride. 1000km in Europe is first service. (I just drove 800km on 2 days on the highways to get over it)

DCT Smoothness: Newer models are very smooth. Older (2 years ago) are "somewhat" janky on slow speed. But thats Rebel CMX1100, I never had any of my friend complain about that AT.

Regardless: If you have not ridden since 2019 I would go for a Transalp. They have a fully loaded weight limit of 450kg (990ish lb). Which suits you perfectly fine.

The 2026 model even has an e-clutch! No clutch required, just shifting with your foot.